


A Christmas Miracle

by Thegingerhalf



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Meet-Cute, but like one line and it's not even abusive just??? bad parenting????, but not much more :/, but they're not even in it so, for a hot second - Freeform, nothing triggering I don't think just sirius has shitty parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 06:59:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12053736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thegingerhalf/pseuds/Thegingerhalf
Summary: “Remus, middle name last name,”“John Lupin” Remus replied automatically, and Sirius ducked his head to laugh for a moment before taking a deep breath and schooling his face.“Remus John Lupin, would you make me the luckiest man alive-”“What are you even-”“-and marry me?”Remus goes out with his family to get a Christmas tree and comes back with a fiancé. Sort of.





	A Christmas Miracle

The cold was biting at Remus’ ears as he stood around with his parents, shivering as they debated the merits of a white pine versus a douglas fir. He stamped his feet to try to get some blood back into them, huffing quietly and watching the cloud of his breath fan out in front of his face. He didn’t really care what kind of tree they got- hell, he’d be fine with a fake tree if they got a pine scented candle. But it was important to his parents, so he stayed quiet and buried his head further into his coat.

“You know we have a fire pit over there if you’re cold.”

Remus jumped slightly, turning his head to the boy who’d appeared behind him. He had wavy black hair down to his shoulders, and his eyes were bright blue, the kind Remus could get lost in. He had his hands resting in his pockets and stood like he was used to leaning against something- like an Levi’s model released into the real world. And why did that have Remus feeling some kinda way? He realized he was staring when the boy raised his eyebrows, a (frankly, unfairly) hot smirk appearing on his (very red) lips, and he and shook himself into action, scrambling for a response. 

“Ahh. Umm…” he looked back at his parents, silently asking if they really needed him to be here for the decision making process. 

His mom nodded. “Go ahead.”

He sighed happily, turning back to the beautiful boy. “That sounds amazing”

“Right this way,” he said with an entirely too charming smile, and, if Remus wasn't mistaken, a wink as he turned to lead him through the maze of trees. “So what’s your name?”

Remus almost didn’t hear the question from how deeply his ears wear buried in his coat. He jogged a bit forward so he could walk in time with the boy, and answered, “Remus, yours?”

“Sirius.”

Remus repeated that under his breath, committing it to memory. 

“So, Remus.” 

Remus looked up, greeted by searing blue eyes staring right at him. “yeah?” 

“Why are you buying a Christmas tree in November?”

Remus burst out laughing, “Hey, any time after Thanksgiving is fair game!” he said in his family’s defense. 

Sirius stuck his nose in the air. “You disgust me.”

Remus laughed, the sound cracking a small smile into Sirius’ expression. “When do you start decorating then?”

The (beautiful) smile seemed to freeze in its place, stuck in something more like a grimace. “We don’t really.” Remus looked up, wide eyed. “My mother thinks Christmas makes kids ungrateful.”

Remus frowned, his brows pinching together as he skipped forward a step in order to keep up. How did someone not celebrate Christmas? It was Christmas! Like Remus got it if they were jewish or muslim or something, but just because? That was really dumb. He cast around for something to say, not really knowing how to respond to something like that. What finally came out, on upon review, maybe was not the best. 

“But you work selling Christmas trees!” 

Remus almost slapped his hand over his mouth. Wow. he was pretty sure anything would’ve been better than that. Way to state the obvious asshole. Great job.

His worries, however, were interrupted by a barking laugh.

“Well I gotta get my Christmas spirit somewhere!” 

Remus let out a deep breath, counting his lucky stars for the bullet he just dodged. 

“You…” Remus trailed off, trying to think of something funny to say. “...Have a point.” Fuck. Words just weren't working for him today. Why was it that he’s perfectly witty around old people and children (who can’t appreciate how incredibly funny and cool he is), but then around anyone cute at all, he turns into fucking Frankenstein (yes he knows that Frankenstein is the doctor, fuck off, let him be pissed).

Sirius laughed again, making the gloomy conversation surprisingly cheerful. He muttered, almost to himself, “Damn right I do.” He sent Remus a cheeky grin, his smile widening when it was returned. They walked in companionable silence until Sirius saw someone that looked surprisingly similar to him walking down the isles. 

“Hey Reg! There's a couple down by rown 3B that might need your help.” 

‘Reg’ nodded, brushing off his hands on his shirt before heading down the way Remus and Sirius had just come. 

“Your parents.” Sirius said, turning back to him and answering his unspoken question.

“Oh.” Remus shoved his numb hands into his pockets, Sirius’ small thoughtful act tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Thanks.”

Sirius smiled at him, bumping his shoulder, and Remus stuttered in his step, trying to process the contact. He shook his head just a bit and continued on his path, deciding he maybe wasn’t entirely opposed to it. 

They finally walked out of the maze of trees and into the open area Remus’d walked in from. There were a handful of people walking around, their feet crunching in the gravel. The employees, in their forest green vests and varying brands of heavy jackets, bustled about, one stoking the fire in the big bricked in square in the middle of the clearing, others carrying a tree over to the netting machine, trailed by a family of four. The whole place felt lively and cheerful, even more than when he’d first walked in.

“The fire’s right over here,” Sirius said, his head close enough to Remus’ that he felt the warm puff of air on his frozen ear. His breath hitched in his throat and he nodded, barely, not making any move towards the pit until Sirius started walking again. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart. He let it out, blowing a cloud of fog ahead of him as he started walking towards warmth. 

Sirius smiled at him as he walked up, leaning casually against the bricks. Remus knew he was a leaner. “What took you so long?” 

“My legs were frozen,” Remus deadpanned. “You try walking with frozen legs.” 

Sirius laughed, grabbing his arm and moving him up against the wall, mumbling “Just get over here you dork.”

Remus smiled at the endearment in his voice, only locking up for a moment before letting himself be moved. Every time Sirius touched him seemed to be a shock to his system, but even more shocking was that he didn’t seem to mind.

“What’s this?” Sirius asked, holding up Remus’ palm- which suddenly didn’t feel all that cold- and showing the small crescent tattooed on the inside of his wrist. He leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, “Is it because you like to moon people?” 

Remus giggled, jerking his wrist back and warming his hands over the fire. They tingled almost painfully as his blood rushed back into them. At least that’s what he told himself to explain the buzz singing through his veins. “You have the sense of humor of a twelve year old!” 

Sirius shrugged. “What can I say?” his grin sat comfortably on his (very pink very chapped) lips, and Remus had to take an extra second to process his voice when he continued, “But really, what’s it mean?” 

Remus let his hands drop, grinning as he leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “It’s because I’m a werewolf.”

Sirius met his eyes and giggled, nudging Remus’ shoulder with his own. “Alright Moony, good to know.”

Remus’s smug laugh choked in his throat, and he snapped his head up to look at Sirius. “What’d you call me?”

Sirius’ smirk stuttered and started to fall. He was wearing an expression that on anyone else would’ve looked like uncertainty, and Remus desperately wanted to see his smile back.

“Uh, Moony. Like, cuz your tattoo.” his words stuttered as he talked, and his eyes shifted down “I mean, I don’t have to call you that, I can stop if it bothers you, I just thought-” Remus cut him off with a friendly laugh, and Sirius’ words trail away faintly.

“No no no it’s fine,” Remus assured him. “Just that my friend Peter calls me the same thing. Caught me off guard.” 

Sirius noticeably relaxed, falling back into his normal cocky attitude. “Well your friend Peter has great taste in nicknames.”

Remus smiled. “I should call and tell him you approve,” he teased. 

Sirius’ face lit up and he started jumping up and down, shouting “Do it do it do it do it do it!” glowing like a child. Remus giggled- actually giggled!- and reached into his pocket to grab his phone. 

“Alright, alright you dork,” he mumbled, biting the fingertips of his glove to help pull it off so he could type. “Gimme a second.” He scrolled hurriedly through his recent messages, looking for the rat emoji he’d put beside Peter’s name. He opened the chat quickly and went to type, biting his lip as he tried to figure out how phrase the text. He looked to Sirius for help, but he stopped when he turned to him to ask what to say. Sirius was distracted, eyes fixed on the way Remus’s teeth dug into the skin of his lower lip. Remus couldn’t help but smirk, just a little bit, before he cleared his throat. Sirius’s eyes jumped to his, and if his cheeks weren’t already flush from the chill in the air, Remus thinks there might’ve been a bit of a blush growing there. 

“Hmm?” Sirius hummed, casually brushing his fingers against his nose and looking back to the phone. When Remus said nothing, Sirius glanced back out of the corner of his eyes. He huffed out a self deprecating laugh when he was greeted by Remus’s smug grin. But he was allowed, he had every reason to be smug. This beautiful boy might actually like him back. How’s that for a Christmas miracle.

“Fuck off, did you need something, or was that just part of your plan to embarrass me?” Sirius asked, a teasing lilt dancing from his smile. “Well guess what bitch, I’ve got no shame. Zero. Shame? What's that? Sounds lame. Sounds like something for lame people. Sounds like-” he was cut off by Remus’ chuckle, and looked extremely offended for a moment before Remus replied,

“I get it, you’re a superhuman, to cool to be embarrassed, if I say I believe you, will you help me write the text you insisted I send?” 

Sirius rolled his shoulders back and puffed out his chest. 

“Of course I will, I’m known world wide for my story crafting abilities-” Remus snorted- “‘can I write a text’ hurmph!”

“Technically I said ‘help write’-” 

“Gimme the phone bitch.” 

Remus handed it over without a second thought, and only after Sirius was already typing did he start to consider all the ways that move could immediately backfire. He shifted behind Sirius’ (much shorter) shoulder, scanning the entire paragraph he’d somehow already written; And if he leaned in just enough to feel the heat glowing off him from under his wool lined denim jacket, that was no one’s business than his and his alone. 

“Done!” Sirius shouted proudly, drawing away to show Remus his work, and sadly taking his warmth with him. Remus stood dazed for just a moment before his eyes focused on the screen, one hand coming up to steady Sirius’ as he held up the phone to his face. Ignoring the bright tingle where their fingers touched, Remus squinted at the screen, trying to keep a straight face at the nonsense he read. 

 

“Peter!!!! i met the most handsome and amazing boy in the whole wide world today!! He has gorgeous black hair and the most stunning blue eyes i’ve ever seen!! Peter i’ve never met someone more perfect than this boy in my entire life!! He is a god amongst men!! Peter i think i’m in love with him, and should go on many dates with him, including a lot of long romantic walks on the beach!! (Also he calls me Moony just like you do) It’s fate!!!” 

 

Remus rolled his eyes, shoving playfully at Sirius’ arm in protest. 

“That sounds absolutely nothing like me, you twat!” he giggled as Sirius swung back at him. “I don’t think I’ve used that many exclamation marks before in my life.” 

“It’s because you’re so in awe of my incredible beauty and immense amount of coolness,” Sirius shot back. “It’s the only way you can express your emotions.” 

Remus laughed and shoved him again with his shoulder, much gentler than the first time. 

“You wish,” he replied, but all the sarcasm he’d planned on being carried within those two words seemed to completely disappear, leaving them sounding soft and almost hopeful. Remus coughed, and tried to change the subject back to the topic at hand, hoping Sirius didn’t hear what he did. “You didn’t actually send that.” 

Sirius grinned triumphantly, his chin tilted up in cheek. “I did.” he said simply, and only when Remus rolled his eyes in exasperation did he fully start to grin, his tongue poking out cockily between his teeth in the most infuriatingly adorable way. Remus felt like he couldn’t do anything but stare.

He was saved by the bell- or the buzz, really, the buzz of his phone in Sirius’s hand as  
Peter responded. Remus leant in close again, towards the crook of Sirius’ neck, under the guise of getting a clearer view of the screen (in case anyone asked). He felt a hot blush climb across his cheeks when he caught sight of Peter’s response, and he turned his head away to cough awkwardly. Shit- was it too late to distract Sirius before he read it? His loud and sudden cackle seemed to indicate ‘no.’ 

 

“Omg”  
“Marry him”  
“Marry him now”  
“I’m your best man right?”

 

Remus let out a stilted laugh, trying to distract Sirius from his burning face. 

“Ha, don’t mind him,” he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “He gets excited.”

“Well he should,” Sirius replied, holding the phone out for Remus to take. He did, tucking it slowly into his pocket as he tried to puzzle out what Sirius meant. 

“Huh?” 

Sirius shrugged, stepping so he was standing directly in front of Remus. 

“Well, I’d be excited too if I got to be your best man.” 

Remus laughed, grateful they seemed to have skipped over the awkwardness Peter’s response could’ve created. He really meant well, but sometimes Remus wished he had just a little bit more tact. 

“Yeah, well, he’s gonna have to wait a couple… oh, decades probably.” he joked, shoving his chilly hands down deep into his pockets as he smiled across the small gap between him and Sirius. “And that’s if I ever get married at all.” he continued, Sirius grinning across the space back at him. “First I’d have to find someone actually willing to marry this ugly mug. Won’t that be a feat.”

“I don’t think it’ll be a huge problem” Sirius said, and now he was down on one knee, his hands held forward like they were holding out something secret and precious. Remus frowned, staring down at him and trying to figure out what he thought he was getting at. 

“What are you doing?” he asked. Sirius grinned up at him.

“Remus, middle name last name,”

“John Lupin” Remus replied automatically, and Sirius ducked his head to laugh for a moment before taking a deep breath and schooling his face. 

“Remus John Lupin, would you make me the luckiest man alive-” 

“What are you even-” 

“-and marry me?” 

The small cluster of people that had suddenly gravitated towards them waited with baited breath. Remus felt like his mind was going a thousand miles an hour, with absolutely nothing to show for it. 

“Uhhhhhhh…” their crowd visibly tensed, and Remus scrambled for the right thing to do in this situation. He looked down at Sirius, perfectly calm, an annoyingly confident smile on his face, and suddenly felt a lot calmer. When Sirius sent him a barely noticeable wink, Remus felt himself kick into action. 

“Of course I’ll marry you, you big dolt!” he exclaimed, leaping forward dramatically into his arms. Sirius stifled a laugh against Remus’ shoulder, and Remus felt butterflies dancing in his stomach. Sirius stood up and they pulled apart (but only just), the people gathered around them clapping politely. One woman, out of the corner of his eye Remus would guess maybe 50 years old, even wolf whistled. As the crowd dispersed, Remus leaned his torso back, his arms still linked around Sirius’ neck, and asked, 

“So where’s my ring?” 

Sirius lifted one hand from Remus’ waist to halfheartedly pat at his pockets before turning back to him, shrugging one shoulder gently (nudging Remus’ arm tighter against his chin in the process) with that familiar cocky smile as he said, 

“Oops. Don’t think I have a ring. How about I give you my number instead?”

Remus doubled over in a laugh, his forehead pressed against the heated skin of Sirius’ neck, before he pulled back quickly and replied,

“I think I’d like that a lot.” 

The two grinned at each other for what some might consider a beat too long before they collapsed back into each other in twin fits of giggles. 

“We should thank Peter for getting us together.” Remus joked, trying to reach for his phone, but his arm rebelled against him, heavy against the warm press of Sirius’ shoulder. 

“We totally should” Sirius laughed back, and before Remus could protest, he was gone, jogging across the gravel to the tree wrapping station. 

“Hey, what the hell?” Remus shouted after him, left rooted in the same spot as Sirius did… something. Remus couldn’t quite tell, his back was turned and he kept getting blocked by people wandering past. Remus had just decided to follow him over when he saw him hurrying back his way, something small pinched between his fingers. 

“What gives?” he asked once Sirius was in range, but Sirius only grinned and reached out for his left hand. Remus gave him it of course, but that didn’t stop him from being suspicious as all hell.

“What are you doing?” he asked, feeling a tug at the base of his knuckle. Sirius only shushed him, swiping Remus’ phone from his pocket, and rearranged them so they were standing side by side. The fire was cackling merrily behind them, and his warm breath puffed against the chill shell of Remus’ ear as he whispered,

“Say cheese.”

*

About a minute later, Peter’s phone buzzed with a message, the screen lighting up with a slightly blurry picture of Remus, his cheek pressed flush against Sirius’ pursed lips, his left hand held up to display the bit of twine tied tight around his ring finger. A text came through a moment after, only two words: 

“We’re engaged!”

**Author's Note:**

> ok so it is Not Christmas but there's never a bad time for some Christmas cheer so don't mind me I'm just here being festive as FUCK and so are they so let me be 
> 
> also sorry james wasn't in this I totally meant for sirius to throw him into this somehow too but he ended up not and I'm too lazy to go back and change it so picture sirius frantically texting him as soon as remus leaves and james freaks the Fuck out and claims best man 
> 
> i'd love to hear anything you have to say, please, I thrive on attention
> 
> (also you can come say hi on tumblr at thegingerhalf)


End file.
